


rest

by rinthegreat



Series: Established Shance in a "Canon"verse [8]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Established Shance, Fluff, M/M, Season 4 episode 2ish, when pidge is gone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-06-05 12:34:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15170873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinthegreat/pseuds/rinthegreat
Summary: A snapshot of Shiro and Lance's relationship after Keith left.Set in Season 4, when Pidge goes to rescue Matt.





	rest

**Author's Note:**

> Another fic as I fill this series out. I've been requested to do the D&D episode, but I wanted to go back in time first. Unbetaed and really only edited once. I have wrist surgery coming up and I'm trying to get some of these out fast. Please forgive any mistakes!

Lance is ashamed to say that he’s relieved that Keith’s gone.

He’s conflicted by it at first because, sure they fight a lot, but he actually likes Keith. They get along, and they’d really bonded when Shiro had disappeared. Keith had been a good leader, and Lance had been proud to be his right hand, though he would’ve liked it more had Shiro been there to see it.

But despite Shiro’s earlier promise, he’d still relied on Keith too much. He’d been working on trusting the rest of them, and not just that but _proving_ that he trusted the rest of them, but old habits die hard. He’d trusted Keith to be there too much, despite Keith’s clear attempts to pull away.

Lance may be dating Shiro, but Keith is still first in his heart.

And Lance isn’t a perfect person. So when Keith leaves and he no longer finds himself competing for Shiro’s attention, he’s relieved. He calms down, relaxes, and doesn’t even freak out when Pidge leaves on her own to find Matt.

The paladins still have things they can do without Pidge there. They recruit planets to the Coalition, free some of the planets with smaller Galra forces guarding them, and idly search for Lotor when given the down time. Even with that, there is still _some_ downtime where they can all worry about Pidge.

Without Keith there to take up Shiro’s time, Lance gets him all to himself. Coran is almost obsessive over finding planets to join the Coalition, Allura is perpetually rehearsing her speeches, and Hunk is nervous cooking himself into a coma.

Luckily, Shiro’s figured out the perfect way to distract them both.

Ever since their first time in the black lion, Shiro’s stopped trying to save Lance’s virtue. They don’t have another incident like that one, which is lucky because Lance is positive that Red would never let him live it down, but every moment that isn’t spent on official Voltron business is spent in Shiro’s room.

Today is the last day before they’re due to meet Pidge – and hopefully Matt – back at the rendezvous point, and everyone’s more on edge than usual. They’ve just finished delivering rations to a group of Blevians who had been extorted as slave labor by the Galra until the Freedom Fighters had liberated them, and Hunk looks like he’s going to chew through his bottom lip before they even form the wormhole. Lance is trying to figure out a way to excuse himself without drawing suspicion when Shiro grabs him by the wrist and hauls him off the bridge without a word.

“Whoa, Shiro, slow down,” Lance tells him with a laugh, stumbling to keep up. “The others are definitely gonna know something is up.”

Shiro huffs but doesn’t respond, leading them with single minded focus down the halls to his room. Lance keeps up with him easily after the shock wears off, unable to keep a smile off his face. He’s worried about Pidge, yes, but a desperate Shiro is a Shiro he’s never seen before.

Lance thinks he might like it.

He stays silent, letting Shiro lead until they get into the black paladin’s room and the door closes behind them. “Is that a rocket in your pocket, or are you just – mmph!”

Shiro shuts him up with a searing kiss, pushing him hard back against the door. Now Lance is _definitely_ not complaining. He kisses him back eagerly, wrapping his arms around Shiro’s neck and tugging on the short hairs there.

Shiro, though, still tries to be gentle.

He breaks apart, staring at Lance with eyes that almost seem to glow with their intensity. “I need a distraction,” Shiro confesses. “Please.”

And Lance is all too happy to comply.

It’s easy to lose himself in Shiro’s touch; easy to forget the world around them and be consumed by it. Lance’s mind goes blissfully blank, focused on the press of Shiro’s body against his. The tightness in Shiro’s jaw relaxes, the frown he’d been wearing the entire day disappears, and Lance thinks he might just be successful.

Afterwards, they lay there, Shiro’s head pressed to Lance’s chest. He does that a lot these days. When Lance had asked, Shiro confessed that it reminds him that Lance is alive, that _he’s_ alive too. Whatever had happened to him when he’d been taken by the Galra a second time had really messed with his mind. So Lance strokes his hair and feels Shiro relax beneath his touch.

“I’m worried about her too,” he admits. They’ve avoided talking about it this whole time, but Pidge is due back tomorrow, and Lance is terrified to think of the possibility of arriving at the rendezvous point and not seeing the green lion. “But I trust her,” he says, determined. “We’d know if something happened.”

“She’s tough,” Shiro murmurs, as if he’s trying to convince himself. “She’s a paladin of Voltron.”

Lance hums in agreement. “And she was trained by the best,” he compliments. Shiro raps his knuckles on Lance’s chest in response, as if reprimanding Lance for being a kiss up. Lance chuckles. “What? You know it’s true.”

“Allura and Coran trained all of us.”

“Yeah, because those years at the Garrison didn’t mean anything.”

This time, Shiro lifts his head to glare at Lance. There’s no heat behind his expression at all. “You know what I mean.”

“Take the compliment, Shiro. I don’t give them out often.”

“That’s not true,” Shiro argues, dropping his ear back to Lance’s chest.

“No,” Lance agrees. “It’s not.” Especially not when it comes to Shiro. Lance has been generous in his compliments, especially after Shiro’s return. Even after Shiro had regained his ability to pilot Black, he still gets nervous. He tries to hide it, but Lance can see through it easily after having watched him for so long. He does what he can to be Shiro’s strength; to prop Shiro up until Shiro regains the confidence to do it himself.

“We should get some sleep,” Shiro murmurs as Lance’s fingers leave his head and trail down his back. His muscles relax with each touch, something for which Lance is immensely proud. Shiro’s drifting off to sleep, and now that Lance has allowed himself to relax, he isn’t far off either.

Tomorrow, they’ll arrive at the rendezvous point, and Pidge will be there. For now, all they can do is rest.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [Tumblr](https://rinthegreat.tumblr.com/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/rinthegreat_ao3)


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